Make 3-4 vertical slits around the brinjals and shallow fry it until they are 75% cooked.Turn over to brown it evenly.Drain into a tissue paper,and keep them aside.

Heat oil(use the same oil used for frying brinjals) in another pan,add asafoetida and chopped tomatoes,fry it well.Now add paprika,dry ginger powder and ground fennel seeds,fry it for a while and add water.When it starts to boil,add in the fried brinjals and salt.Simmer it until brinjals are well cooked and gravy turns thick.Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with roti/rice.

Olan, a traditional Kerala Sadya dish is a typical Malayalee preparation which is enriched with coconut milk.This is again a simple dish where red grams,ash gourd and pumpkin are cooked together in a thin coconut milk gravy and seasoned with coconut oil and curry leaves. And it has a unique, pleasing and inviting aroma which itself make you crave for the dish.

Pressure cook red gram dal until it is soft ,but not losing its shape.Keep it aside.Into a deep pan add ashgourd dices,pumpkin dices,slit green chillies,salt and 1/4 cup of water.Cover it and cook until the vegetables turn soft.Add more water if needed.When it is done,add in the cooked red gram dal,stir and add thin coconut milk.Allow it to boil,and when the gravy thickens ,add thick coconut milk.Again bring it to a boil,stirring occasionally.Remove it from the stove,season with coconut oil and a sprig of curry leaves.Mix well,cover it with a lid and allow it to stand for 1/2 an hour before serving.This will help the dish to absorb the flavour of curry leaves and coconut oil.Serve with rice.

Finally i’m back with my next post,sorry for this long uninformed absence,this time the blame is on my in-laws.I got busy with them,taking them around places,eating good food and sharing gossips.Soon i’ll be posting some of the special dishes from my mother-in-law.But for now enjoy this spicy chicken favorite from Sumi’s Kitchen Wonders.Chilly Chicken is the most popular dish in Indo-Chinese cuisine.This is a spicy dish which can be savored as an appetizer,it tastes great with fried rice and noodles as well.This recipe from Sumitha has a very unique taste with the hot Sambal Oelek in it,and i must say this is definitely a keeper.Thank you dear Sumi for this wonderful recipe.

Prepare a marinade by mixing the ingredients together.Add the chicken pieces into it and marinate it for an hour,preferably in a refrigerator.Heat vegetable oil in a pan and shallow fry the chicken pieces until they are brown in color.Drain and keep it aside.